The Dictionary

The Clash “London Calling”

Released in 1979 this seemed, at the time, as a call to action and a portent of what was to come. There was a darkness to punk that the Clash reflected. I think their music and politics was summed up by critic Sean Egan when he wrote that the Clash were exceptional because:

“They were a group whose music was, and is, special to their audience because that music insisted on addressing the conditions of poverty, petty injustice, and mundane life experienced by the people who bought their records…”

I liked the Clash and in particular the album “London’s Calling” I have spent a great part of my life visiting London either because of work or to meet up with friends and family. It is a sprawling place were even the smallest journey seems to take a life time but it has an energy and vitality that is difficult to beat. Much as I love my home town of Newcastle it can’t rival London for sheer variety and originality.

Over forty years ago I remember travelling from Hackney to Stepney on a bus late at night when I fell in to conversation with the conductor (this was in the days when you had a person separate from the driver who would collect the fares). He was reading a dictionary and we talked about words and language. English was not his first language and he was fascinated by the sheer number of words in the dictionary. The words had a magic quality to him and I loved the delight he took in discovering new words. Something I still find today,

My problem was always not the words but the spelling of them but now thanks to software it no longer troubles me since I discovered computers, spellcheckers and word processing software.

This is an old poem of mine from my first collection called “Doors” but it’s a long time since it saw the light of day and finding it was like meeting up with an old friend.

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Published by Jeff Price

Biog Jeff Price
Jeff is a stand up poet and has performed at many festivals including the Prague Fringe Festival and the Bristol Poetry Festival. He embarrassed himself with an appearance in ITV’s Airline programme reciting poetry to Easyjet passengers in Newcastle Airport. He was the founder and organiser of the Poetry Vandals. He organises poetry events including The Great Northern Slam at Northern Stage and is a regular performer at venues throughout the UK including the Bristol Poetry Festival, the Prague Fringe Festival and the Berlin Poetry Festival. He is regular at venues in the South West of France.
Jeff’s work has appeared in many anthologies, E-Zines and poetry websites. He has written for a number of magazines. Jeff’s poetry often hides a sharp political message behind its humour. His first full collection “Doors” was published in 2006 and "Toe in The Tarn" was published in 2012. He has released a CD/Book titled Live at La Sirene.
“The wordplay of Roger McGough delivered with the voice of a Geordie Adrian Mitchell. Great entertainment – count me in, I’m a fan”. Mike Jones Quercy Unplugged
“Great storytelling and a sharp eye for human foibles with powerful images... Highly recommended” Kate Fox, Poet in Residence on BBC Radio Four's "Saturday Live"
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